''The Excellent Dizzy Collection'' is a

video game compilation A video game compilation is a type of product bundling in which different video games are available for purchase as a special collection. They are often stored on the same physical media or digital package, making use of menu interfaces that al ...

published by

Codemasters The Codemasters Software Company Limited (trade name: Codemasters) is a British video game developer and former publisher based in Southam, England, which is a subsidiary of American corporation Electronic Arts and managed under the EA Sports ...

in November 1993. The title includes three stand alone games, based on the video game character Dizzy created by the

Oliver Twins Andrew Nicholas Oliver and Philip Edward Oliver, together known as the Oliver Twins, are British twin brothers and video game designers. They developed computer games while they were still at school, contributing their first type-in game to a ...

. The compilation contains, '' Dizzy the Adventurer'', '' Panic Dizzy'' and the previously unreleased ''Go! Dizzy Go!'' Ports were slated for release in January 1994 for

Master System The is an 8-bit Third generation of video game consoles, third-generation home video game console manufactured and developed by Sega. It was originally a remodeled export version of the Sega Mark III, the third iteration of the SG-1000 series ...

and

Mega Drive The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master Sys ...

, but only the

Game Gear The is an 8-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth-generation handheld game console released by Sega on October 6, 1990 in Japan, in April 1991 throughout North America and Europe, and in 1992 in Australia. The Game Gear primarily ...

version saw release, and only in Europe.

Games

''Dizzy the Adventurer''

''Dizzy the Adventurer'' is an enhanced version of the previously released '' Dizzy Prince of the Yolkfolk'' that was bundled with the Aladdin Deck Enhancer for the Oliver twin's publisher (

/ Camerica) ill-fated

NES The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on 15 July 1983 as the and was later released as the redesigned NES in several test markets in the ...

peripheral. The title had not previously been released on the

Sega is a Japanese video game company and subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings headquartered in Tokyo. It produces several List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises for arcade game, arcades and video game cons ...

platforms so was originally going to be released as a stand-alone game but publisher Codemasters was uncomfortable releasing it at full price.

''Panic Dizzy''

The game was originally released as a stand-alone product, '' Dizzy Panic!'', for the

Amstrad CPC The Amstrad CPC (short for "Colour Personal Computer") is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the ZX Spec ...

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer developed and marketed by Sinclair Research. One of the most influential computers ever made and one of the all-time bestselling British computers, over five million units were sold. ...

and

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in ...

, but was later included as a last-minute replacement for ''Wonderland Dizzy''. Codemasters felt that two adventure games should not be included on the one compilation, so the Oliver Twins decided to leave ''Dizzy the Adventurer'' and replace ''Wonderland Dizzy'' (which was eventually released in October 2015) with ''Panic Dizzy'' to complement the other two game styles.

''Go! Dizzy Go!''

''Go! Dizzy Go!'' was originally to be released on the NES for the Aladdin; due to its unexpected failure, the title was then planned for release as a stand-alone title for the Master System and Game Gear. The publisher, Codemasters, was uncomfortable releasing it separately at full price, so included it as part of ''The Excellent Dizzy Collection''. The game is an action-puzzle game where the player must navigate the Dizzy through a series of mazes similar to the ''

Adventures of Lolo ''Adventures of Lolo'' is a puzzle video game released in 1989 by HAL Laboratory for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It is a compilation of puzzles from ''Eggerland: Meikyū no Fukkatsu'' and ''Eggerland: Sōzō he no Tabidachi''. It is the f ...

'' games. '' Quattro Arcade'', released for the NES in 1992, includes ''Go! Dizzy Go!''

Development

After the failure of the Aladdin Deck Enhancer, Camerica was forced to close down, and

was in financial trouble. As a result, many staff left the Oliver twins' software company, Interactive Studios, who were unable to find replacements. ''Dizzy the Adventurer'' was freely bundled with the Aladdin, and three other titles were being developed for it; ''Dreamworld Pogie'', ''Go! Dizzy Go!'' and '' Wonderland Dizzy''. After the Aladdin was abandoned, the Oliver twins decided to release all four (when completed) on the Sega Master System and Sega Game Gear to bring in some extra revenue, but Codemasters wasn't comfortable releasing each as a full-priced stand-alone title, so forced them to combine the games into a compilation, although only three would fit. They abandoned the non-Dizzy-oriented game, ''Dreamworld Pogie'', and intended to release the action game ''Go! Dizzy Go!'' and the two adventure games ''Wonderland Dizzy'' and ''Dizzy the Adventurer''. Codemasters marketing team informed the Olivers that they couldn't release two adventure games on the one compilation. They decided that the previously released ''Dizzy the Adventurer'' was the stronger title and didn't require any further development and, as a replacement for ''Wonderland Dizzy'', the twins included the previously released ''Panic Dizzy''. After ''The Excellent Dizzy Collection'' was released, the Oliver twins left Codemasters for another publisher, and with the

intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, co ...

split between Codemasters and the Oliver twins, no more Dizzy games were ever produced, although both companies have since said they would like to revisit the series. ''Wonderland Dizzy'' was eventually released in 2015. ''Dreamworld Pogie'' remained unreleased until 2011 when an alpha build was somehow leaked online. An official release of the game finally occurred in 2017, following a successful Kickstarter campaign from the original creators.

References

External links

The Oliver twins' website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Excellent Dizzy Collection, The 1993 video games Cancelled Master System games Cancelled Sega Genesis games Codemasters video game compilations Dizzy (series) Europe-exclusive video games Game Gear games Game Gear-only games Single-player video games Video games developed in the United Kingdom